Quantitative indicators of social sustainability applicable in process systems engineering

Abstract

The emerging interest in sustainability for process systems engineering is motivated by the need to create an environmentally, economically and socially stable society. This is because companies have realized that profit is not the only goal to be achieved. Therefore, they are seeking ways to satisfy these criteria. From the assessment perspective, social sustainability was always neglected, and only recently gained a lot of attention, largely because stakeholders, as being aware of possible negative impacts resulting from industrial processes, are engaging into decision making process and thus demanding more transparency about social sustainability. Consequently, the development of the appropriate methods and quantitative indicators is seen as one of the most important research priorities in social sustainability.

The purpose of this dissertation is to enable the quantitative assessment of social sustainability in supply chains and wastewater treatment processes. Thus, it employs several methods that will help in achieving its stated goal. Defining indicators enhances their effectiveness, while their validation and applicability are ensured using empirical and content analysis. Other methods employed for the analysis of proposed social sustainability indicators and their relationship with stakeholders and supply chain echelons are bipartite network projection and ANOVA analysis, respectively.

The findings of this study show that social sustainability lacks detailed and appropriate assessment methods with a clear definition, relevance and quantitative equation of the indicators. Consequently, developing social sustainability indicators enables the assessment of both the specific process and the whole supply chain in general. Overall, these findings contribute to the field of social sustainability and process system engineering by suggesting a novel approach in assessing social sustainability.